A small plane crashed in a pond near Atlantic Boulevard in Jacksonville about 6:20 p.m. Sunday, killing three people on board, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.

A man and a woman died in the crash off Nettington Court, said Melissa Bujeda, a Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman, a few hours after the crash. A Sheriff’s Office dive team found a third victim, who appeared to be a female, in the water late Sunday night, Bujeda said.

She said the plane was en route to Jacksonville Executive at Craig Airport. Airport officials told police the pilot couldn’t see the runway. The pilot was told to fly around. The tower was soon alerted that the plane lost altitude, Bujeda said.

Bujeda said she wouldn’t speculate on whether fog in the area contributed to the crash.

“We know it crashed into the retention pond, and we’re very fortunate it did not hit any homes because it could be a lot more fatalities than we are talking about right now,” Bujeda said.

Neighbors say they were cooking dinner or getting ready to put their children to bed when they heard a loud boom or crash. Then they learned a plane crashed into a drainage pond behind homes on Nettington Court and Coldfield Drive West.

Michael Jones lives on Coldfield Drive West.

He said he and his wife were cooking dinner just before they put the children to bed when the crash occurred.

“We heard a boom, and we heard that a plane had crashed,” Jones said.

Even though the airport is near, the thought of a plane crash doesn’t enter his mind often.

“We are right in the flight path of the airport so there’s the potential,” he said. “It was pretty loud. We thought somebody hit a car.”

Trish Goldsby lives a street away from the retention pond. She said she heard the plane’s engine cut off and then a loud boom.

“That’s when I came out, and next thing you know, I’m counting fire trucks,” she said.

Bujeda said the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration would investigate the reasons behind the crash.